Should you restructure your investments in the wake of the pandemic?

Here are some points to consider:

• This market crash is going to be like the kleptocracy of the Zuma regime. The full results will only come through much later. For example, the downgrading of South Africa’s debt only came months after he departed. Markets are already looking like hitting a W-curve with the markets dropping, then recovering and then dropping again to come back again later.


• Take a deep breath. Panic can lead to wrong decisions. Markets move in cycles and following collapses, such as now, we have seen they are likely to recover. The question is how deep will the depression be and for how long will it last. No one really knows.


• No investment makes a loss or a profit until you actually sell it. Also, when markets are down and you have a long-term horizon, it is a good opportunity to buy good quality assets at lower prices to benefit from the longer-term recovery.


• Pensioners who invested a big slice of their money offshore may find that they will not be too far out because of the fall in the value of the rand. A lesson in the need to diversify your investment.


• If you have not saved sufficient money by retirement, it is unlikely that any pension structure you chose will make up the shortfall. By making the wrong choices you may accelerate the shortfall.


• Living annuity investors may need some restructuring such as to draw on cash or near cash investments, rather than a drawdown across their investment-linked living annuity (living annuity or illa) or buy into a product that gives you access to a guaranteed annuity, but consult a knowledgeable financial planner first. Remember, everyone is different and everyone has different circumstances, wants and needs.